By A.R. Royo

It’s time for Barack Obama to take some bold actions to get the attention back on himself and the issues. He should start naming his cabinet now and announce a new appointee every week until Election Day.

He could begin by announcing Republican Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense. A Viet vet and former CEO, Hagel supports a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq and recently traveled with Obama to that country. This would would immediately give the 24/7 cable news and blogosphere something to chatter about besides McPalin lies and Rove slime machine character assassination.

Then, how about Obama’s presidential rival Hillary Clinton for Secretary of Health & Human Services the following week. She would be in a position to implement the cornerstone of her presidential candidacy – universal health care. Her New York Senate seat would be safe for another appointed Democrat. And as soon as a Supreme Court vacancy became available she could be nominated for that seat. Yes, Republicans will still cry “sexism.”

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Swap Ideas  Day Day 254 of 2008 112 days left in this year

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HAWAIIAN WORD OF THE DAY — Wahahe‘e: Liar
PIDGIN WORD OF THE DAY — Giaman: Liar
HAWAIIAN PROVERB OF THE DAY — “A liar is also a thief.”
HAOLE SAYING OF THE DAY — “I don’t dislike Sarah Palin because she’s from a small town but because she has a small mind.” – Bill Maher

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WEB SURF SPOT OF THE WEEK — West Maui Watershed

WEB VIDEO OF THE WEEK — McCain the Pilot
NETCAST OF THE WEEK — Huffington Post
GOOD DEED SITE OF THE WEEK — Make a Wish Foundation

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On September 10, 1897, Republic of Hawaii President Dole signed the annexation treaty and the Hawaiian Senate approved it, moving the Kingdom of Hawaii closer to becoming a part of the United States.

So many books have been written about this time in Hawaiian history, and yet they perhaps fail to fully explain the scope of injustice, from land grabbing in the name of American Commerce and Christian Fundamentalism, to the sheer audacity of the United States assumption that Hawaiians could not govern themselves.

The process itself was not long in culminating but was more difficult than the perpetrators had planned. In early 1893, a cabal of American-born planters, lead by Sanford Ballard Dole, overthrew Queen Liliukalani. At the time, one American Minister to Hawaii was quoted as saying, “The Hawaiian pear is now fully ripe, and this is the golden hour for the United States to pluck it.”

Funny enough, when it came time to sign the annexation into law, Democratic President Grover Cleveland refused on principle, saying, “I regarded and still regard the proposed annexation of Hawaii as not only opposed to our national policy but as a perversion of our national mission. The mission of our nation is to build up and make a great country out of what we have, instead of annexing islands.”

Stymied but not outdone, the country thieves refused to return what they had taken. Instead, they created the “Republic of Hawaii”, and sat on their ill-gotten gains until the next president, Republican William McKinley, gained office. He was glad to move annexation along and it was under his presidency that the disgusting deed was finally made law. More >